Leaf loading machine with counterrotating beater and broom

ABSTRACT

A leaf loading machine has a rotary beater and a rotary broom on a mobile frame, both of which extend transversely of the frame. The broom is disposed rearwardly of and in tandem relation to the beater. Both the beater and the broom are disposed adjacent to the ground and are operable to counterrotate relative to one another so as to deliver leaves from the ground upwardly therebetween. The broom rotates substantially faster than the beater.

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.07/111,468 filed Oct. 22, 1987.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to loading machines and, moreparticularly, is concerned with an improved leaf loading machine capableof sweeping and picking up leaves under diverse and adverse conditions.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Various machines for sweeping and removing leaves, trash and debris frommunicipal streets, roads, parks and other surfaces are in wide use atthe present time. Representative of the prior art are the sweepers andcollectors disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. to Cromwell (3,183,653), Doering(3,922,744), Saiia (3,990,125), Donohue (3,993,141), and Olson et al(4,624,026) and embodied in machines commercially available under thetrademarks, Sweepster and Tarco, and tradename, Vanguard. Other priorart harvesting machines for picking up crop materials are disclosed inU.S. Pat. Nos. to Resetich (3,797,216) and Ramacher et al (3,872,657).

Many prior art sweepers and collectors operate satisfactorily when theprevailing conditions are close to ideal, such as where the leaves andother debris are dry and lie in loose and scattered arrangements on asurface. However, when adverse weather produces less than idealconditions, such as where leaves and other debris becomes wet,compacted, frozen or hard-packed, many prior art machines fail to do anadequate job of sweeping and removing the materials.

One major shortcoming of many prior art machines lies in the inabilityof their sweeping rotors vacuums and brooms to perform the multiplicityof functions required to handle the diversity of adverse conditionstypically encountered, such as mentioned above. While the brooms may beadequate to sweep the loose materials, they are frequently incapable ofloosening packed material. Also, while a set of tandemly-arranged broomsmay be able to lift dry and fluffy materials, they are commonlyincapable of lifting heavier and more dense clumps and piles of wetdebris.

Consequently, a need exists for a leaf collecting or harvesting machineof improved versatility rendering it capable of satisfactory performanceunder a variety of adverse conditions, such as handling removal ofdensely-packed piles of leaves and debris.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a leaf loading machine designed tosatisfy the aforementioned needs. The term "leaf" is meant to cover notonly leaves, but also other materials and debris commonly encountered onstreets, roads and park surfaces.

The present invention provides an improved machine incorporating severaldifferent features which function to effectively sweep and pick up orlift leaves lying in a variety of conditions on a variety of surfaces.The machine functions satisfactorily under a wide range of adverseconditions, for instances where the leaves are matted and and wherestones, bottles and cans are intermixed with the leaves. Thus, themachine is capable of handling everything from wet, hard packed, or dryand fluffy, leaves to junk.

The features of the improved leaf loading machine of the presentinvention are advantageously incorporated together in the same machineto realize all potential benefits deriving therefrom. However, theadvantages associated with individual ones of the features can beenjoyed separately in different machines.

The improved leaf loading machine of the present invention whichincorporates the various features basically includes a mobile frameadapted to move across the ground, a rotary beater including a pluralityof lifting elements extending transversely of frame, and a rotary broomincluding a plurality of bristles extending transversely of the frameand disposed rearwardly of and in tandem relation to the beater. Thebeater and broom are disposed adjacent to the ground and operable tocounter-rotate relative to one another so as to deliver leaves from theground upwardly between the beater and broom. Also, the machine includesmeans on the frame for receiving the delivered leaves. The receivingmeans can take the form of mechanisms such as an auger and thrower fortransferring the delivered leaves to a storage location, such as a truckwhich tows the machine.

In the preferred embodiment of the machine of the present invention, thetips of the beater lifting elements are movable along a first path oftravel at a first speed while the tips of the broom bristles are movablealong a second path of travel at a second speed. The first and secondpaths of travel overlap and the second speed is substantially fasterthan the first speed, thereby resulting in effective stripping of thebeater lifting elements.

These and other advantages and attainments of the present invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of thefollowing detailed description when taken in conjunction with thedrawings wherein there is shown and described an illustrative embodimentof the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the course of the following detailed description, reference will bemade to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view, with portions broken away, of a leaf loadingmachine embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a right side elevational view of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a left side elevational view of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a left side elevational view of the leaf loading machine withthe machine being shown in a transport position in solid line form andan operating position in dashed line form;

FIG. 6 is a left side elevational view of the leaf loading machine withits rotary pickup beater being shown at its minimum displacement abovethe ground in solid line form and at its maximum displacement above theground in dashed line form;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side elevational view of one of the sweepingelements in a rotary pickup broom of the leaf loading machine;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged side elevational view of one of the liftingelements in the pickup broom of the leaf loading machine;

FIG. 10 is an end elevational view as seen along line 10--10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged side elevational view of a central spider supportstructure in the pickup broom of the leaf loading machine;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line 12--12 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an exploded view of one of ten groupings of sweeping andlifting elements in the pickup broom of the leaf harvesting machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, right hand and left hand references aredetermined by standing at the rear of the machine and facing in thedirection of forward travel. Also in the following description, it is tobe understood that such terms as "forward", "left", "upwardly", etc.,are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms.

In General

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1-3, there isshown an improved leaf loading machine, being indicated generally bynumeral 10 and comprising the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention (the right side of the machine being shown in FIG. 2 and theleft side in FIG. 3 when one is standing to the rear of the machine andfacing in the direction of forward travel).

The machine 10 is provided with a mobile frame, generally indicated at12, which includes a left longitudinal frame member 14 and a pair oflaterally-spaced inner and outer right longitudinal frame members 16,18which members 14,16,18 all extend fore-and-aft and are interconnected byforward and rearward transverse frame members 20,22. The longitudinalframe members 14,16,18 are respectively supported by left and rightground wheels 24,26 being rotatably mounted by an elongated axle 28extending between and mounted at its opposite ends to left and rightbracket plates 30,32 fixed in upright orientations to the rear portionsof the left and outer right longitudinal members 14,18.

At the right front portion of the mobile frame 12, a pair of inner andouter beams 34,36 are fixed upstanding on the front ends of respectiveinner and outer longitudinal frame members 16,18. A tongue assembly 38is pivotally mounted at its rear portion by an elongated pivot pin 40connected to and extending between the upper ends of the beams 34,36.The tongue assembly 38 extends forward from the beams 34,36 and has ahitching means 42 on its forward end adapting the machine 10 to besecured to a drawbar 44 (FIG. 5) of a towing vehicle (not shown), suchas a truck located at the front of the machine 10, for towing themachine 10 along surfaces of streets, roadways, parks or other areas tobe cleaned.

In addition to the mobile frame 12, the leaf loading machine 10basically includes a rotary beater 46 on the frame 12 extendingtransversely of the direction of travel and a main rotary pickup broom48 on the frame 12 also extending transversely of the direction oftravel and disposed rearwardly of and in tandem relation to the beater46. Covering the upper side of the beater 46 is a shroud 50 open at itsfront and rear ends and composed of a pair of spaced left and right sidewalls 52,54 interconnected by a top wall 56. Over-lying and enclosingthe upper side of the main pickup broom 48 is a housing 58 open at itsfront end and composed of a pair of spaced left and right side walls60,62 interconnected by a top wall 64 and closed at the rear end of thehousing 58 by a rear wall 66. The housing 58 is fixed on and extendsbetween and above the left and inner right longitudinal frame members14,16 of the mobile frame 12.

Thus, the beater 46 and main pickup broom 48 are disposed with theirlower sides adjacent to the ground and their upper sides spaced belowrespective top walls 56,64 of the shroud and housing 46,48. Theauxiliary beater 46 and main broom 48 have respective elongated centraltubular members 68 and 70 rotatably mounted at their respective oppositeends to and extending between respective side walls 52,54 and 60,62 ofthe shroud 50 and housing 58 by which the beater 46 and broom 48 cancounterrotate relative to one another so as to deliver leaves from theground upwardly therebetween. The leaves are then deflected rearwardlyover the main broom 48 by the respective top walls 56 and 64 of theshroud 50 and housing 58.

Also, the leaf loading machine 10 includes means on the mobile frame 12for receiving the leaves delivered from the ground by the beater 46 andmain pickup broom 48 and deflected rearwardly over the broom 48 towardthe rear wall 66 of the housing 58. The receiving means preferably takesthe form of a transfer auger 72 disposed transversly on the mobile frame12 rearwardly of and in tandem with the broom 48 and a discharge blower74 coaxially aligned with and disposed at a discharge end of a centralshaft 76 of the auger 72. The auger 72 at the left end of its shaft 76is rotatably mounted to the left side wall 60 of the housing 58. Thethrower 74 is mounted on the inner and outer right longitudinal framemembers 16,18 adjacent the right side wall 62 of the housing 58.

An opening 78 in the housing right side wall 62 provides communicationof the auger 72 with an impeller 80 rotatably mounted between thehousing right side wall 62 and an outer side wall 82 of a casing 84 ofthe blower 74. The auger 72 rotates and coacts with a stationaryarcuate-shaped trough 86, which underlies the auger 72 and is fixedbetween the housing side and rear walls 60,62,64, to transfer the leaveslaterally from left to right in FIG. 1 to the thrower impeller 80. Theimpeller 80 rotating at high speed in the blower casing 84 propels theleaves through the casing 84 and out a discharge spout 88 extendingupwardly from the casing 84 to a storage location, such as the truckwhich tows the machine 10.

The motive power for the beater 66, main pickup broom 48, transfer auger72 and discharge thrower 74 of the leaf loading machine 10 is derivedfrom an engine 90 mounted on a rear superstructure 92 fixed to thelongitudinal frame members 14,16,18 of the mobile frame 12 and overlyingthe ground wheels 24,26 thereof. A power train leading from a rotatingdrive shaft 94 of the engine which mounts a flywheel 96 provides rotarydriving power to the above-described operating components of the machine10.

More particularly, the power train includes drive and driven sheaves98,100 respectively mounted on the engine drive shaft 94 and the throwerimpeller 80 and a continuous belt 102 extending between an drivinglyentrained about the sheaves 98,100. A belt tightener mechanism 104 isdisposed adjacent the belt 102 and actuatable by a handle 106 pivotallymounted on the superstructure 92. The power train also includes a jackshaft 108 rotatably mounted a bracket 110 fixed upright on the outerright longitudinal frame member 18 and having a large diameter sprocket112 and a pair of small diameter sprockets 114 attached respectively onouter and inner ends of the jack shaft 108. Another small diametersprocket 116 is attached on the outer end of the impeller 80 adjacentthe sheave 110 thereon with a drive chain 118 extending between anddrivingly entrained about the sprockets 112,116.

For powering the main pickup broom, the dual sprockets 114 on the innerend of the jack shaft 108 are drivingly coupled to dual sprockets 120 onthe right end of the broom central tubular member 70 by a pair ofcontinuous drive chains 122. For powering the beater 46 and the transferauger 72, a pair of inner and outer sprockets 124,126 are attachedside-by-side to the left end of the broom central tubular member 70.Respective drive chains 128,130 extend between and drivingly couple theouter and inner sprockets 126,124 with sprockets 132,134 respectivelyattached on the left ends of the beater central tubular member 68 andthe auger shaft 76. A pair of drive chain take-up idler sprockets 136are rotatably mounted on the left side wall 60 of the housing 58adjacent the outer sprocket 126 on the broom central tubular member 70.The idler sprockets 136 allow adjustable movement of the beater 46toward and away from the broom 48 while still providing drive couplingtherebetween by the chain 128 and also provide for counterrotation ofthe beater 46 and broom 48 such that they move toward one another, asdepicted by the arrows in FIG. 4, at their respective lower sides.

The machine 10 also has a brush stripper 138 with an elongated shaft 140and diametrically-opposed radially projecting combs 142. The shaft 140is rotatably mounted between the left and right housing side walls 60,62so as to locate its combs 142 rearwardly and tangentially to the mainpickup broom 48. The power train also includes a large diameter sprocket144 attached on the left end of the auger shaft 76 and a small diametersprocket 146 attached to the left end of the brush stripper shaft 140. Adrive chain 148 extends between and drivingly couples the sprockets144,146. The relative speeds of the operating components of the machine10 can readily be determined by comparing the relative sizes of therespective sheaves and sprockets of the power train associatedtherewith.

In the preferred embodiment of the leaf loading machine 10, the centralmember 68 of the beater 46 rotates at 77 rpm, the central member 70 ofthe broom 48 rotates at 169 rpm, the auger shaft 76 rotates at 276 rpm,and the stripper shaft 140 rotates at 998 rpm. While the machine 10operates most efficiently with the various components rotating at theaforementioned speeds, it should be understood that the components mayalso be operated at other speeds.

Rotary Beater and Pickup Broom

One important feature of the improved leaf harvesting machine 10 relatesto the composition of, and cooperation which occurs between, the beater46 and main pickup broom 48. As best seen in FIG. 4, in addition to itscentral tubular member 68, the pickup beater 46 includes a number ofelongated angle members 150 being L-shaped in cross section and aplurality of elongated lifting elements 152 attached in spaced relationalong each of the angle members 150. The angle members 150 arecircumferentially spaced about and rigidly fixed to the central tubularmember 68 so as to extend tangentially therefrom. The lifting elements152 are angularly-spaced about and generally extend in swept-back radialfashion from a central mounting structure 154 formed by the anglemembers 150 and central tubular member 68 of the beater.

Also, the beater 46 includes a stripper assembly 156 composed of aplurality of spaced apart U-shaped stripper segments 158 which extendparallel to one another and downwardly around the lower side of thecentral mounting structure 154 and are attached at their upper ends bybolts 160 to flanges 162 fixed on the underside of the top wall 56 ofthe beater shroud 50. The lifting elements 152 are aligned with thespaces between the stripper segments 158 so as to extend through thespaces and beyond the stripper segments 158 during travel through thelower portion of an endless path of travel P(1) as the beater centralmounting structure 154 is rotated counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 4.During travel through the upper portion of the endless path P(1), thelifting elements 152 withdraw inside of the stripper segments 158whereby the segments 158 cause stripping of any material clinging to thelifting elements 152. Preferably, the lifting elements 152 take the formof resiliently yieldable, semirigid spring-type fingers or tines whichmove in the endless path P(1) and are capable of engaging and looseningup densely-packed piles of leaves and of lifting the leaves upwardlyfrom the ground.

As best seen in FIGS. 1, 4, and 7-13, in addition to its central tubularmember 70, the pickup broom 48 includes a spider 164, and pluralities ofbrushing or sweeping elements 166 and lifting elements 168 axiallyslidably mounted on the spider 164. The spider 164 is composed of threebars 170 spaced radially from and extending generally parallel to thecentral tubular member 70 by a plurality of triangular-shaped plates172. The plates 172 are axially spaced from one another along thecentral tubular member 70 and attached thereto and to the bars 170 so asto define with the central tubular member 70 and bars 170 a centralspider support structure 174 having an overall equilateral triangularconfiguration.

As best seen in FIGS. 4, 7, 8 and 13, each of the brushing or sweepingelements 166 of the broom 48 is composed of a central ring 176 having amultiplicity of resiliently-flexible elongated fiber bristles 178arranged in a row, anchored thereto and extending radially therefrom.The central ring 176 has a wavy, undulating or convoluted shape definingthree pairs of alternating, axially spaced lobes A and B which,depending upon the angular orientation of one ring 176 relative to anadjacently-positioned ring 176, allow placement of the rings 176 eitherin sync or out of sync with one another. In other words, when the ringsare "in sync" with one another, the three pairs (or six) lobes A,B ofeach ring are nested together in close packed contacting relation withtheir rows of bristles 178 disposed adjacent one another. After rotationof one ring 176 sixty degrees relative to the adjacent ring 176, therings are "out of sync" such that only three lobes A displaced onehundred twenty degrees apart are contacting and their rows of bristles178 are axially spaced at the locations of the other three spaced apartlobes. Both the "in sync" and "out of sync" relationships of thesweeping elements 166 can be seen in FIG. 1. Two pairs ofradially-inwardly extending spaced drive pins 180, 182 fixed on the ring176 of each sweeping element 166 and circumferentially spaced from oneanother by approximately one inch interfit with any of the bars 170 ofthe spider support structure 174 to prevent the sweeping element 166from rotating relative thereto once the ring 176 has been slidablyinstalled over the spider support structure 174. Rotation of the spidersupport structure 174 thus causes rotation of the plurality of sweepingelements 166 therewith in an endless path P(2) in which the outer tipsof the fiber bristles 178 engage and sweep the loosened leaves acrossthe ground.

As best seen in FIGS. 4, 9, 10 and 13, each of the lifting elements 168of the broom 48 is composed of a triangular-shaped plate 184 and aplurality of resiliently-yieldable, semi-rigid spring-type fingers ortines 186 angularly-spaced thereabout one hundred twenty degrees fromone another. The tines 186 are mounted by bolts 188 to each of threeangular brackets 190 fixed on the respective three segments 192 of theplate 184. Installation of the lifting element 168 over the spidersupport structure 174 of the broom 48, as best seen in FIG. 4, involvesaligning the bars 170 of the spider support structure 174 with theinterior corners formed by the plate segments 192 and then sliding theplate 184 on the bars 170.

As shown in FIG. 13, one lifting element 168 is grouped with sixsweeping elements 166 with a subgroup of three sweeping elements 166 oneach opposite side of the lifting element 168. Ten of such groups arepositioned along the spider support structure 174 of the broom 48. Thesweeping and lifting elements 166,168 are installed from the right endof the structure 174 as viewed in FIG. 11. A stop plate 194 is providedon the left end of the structure 174.

The three sweeping elements 166 of each subgroup on each side of thelifting element 168 are oriented to assume an "in sync" or nestingrelation to one another. However, the inner ones of the sweepingelements 166 of the two subgroups are oriented "out of sync" with eachother, allowing the lifting element 168 to be positioned therebetweenwith its corners 196 formed by the plate segments 192 being disposedbetween the three spaced lobes B of the sweeping element rings 176. Insuch manner, the lifting element tines 186 are interspersed with thefiber bristles 178 of the sweeping elements 166 and, upon rotation ofthe spider support structure 174, move in an endless path P(3) to engageand lift upwardly from the ground the leaves being swept by the sweepingelements 166. It will be observed in FIG. 4 that the tines 186 of thelifting elements 168 are slightly shorter in length than the bristles178 of the sweeping elements 166. Thus, the diameter of endless pathP(3) is less than that of endless path P(2).

Therefore, upon counter-rotation of the beater 46 and main pickup broom48 such that the beater and broom rotate toward one another at theirrespective lower sides which are located adjacent the ground, therespective sweeping elements 166 and lifting elements 152,168 thereofcooperate to positively and consistently deliver leaves from the groundupwardly between the beater and broom 46,48 to the transfer auger 72.Because of the interspersed relationship of the tines 186 within themass of bristles 178, when the load becomes heavy the more rigid tines186 take over the load carrying function from the fiber bristles 178. Ifthe tines 186 were not present, the bristles 178 would merely deflectand not lift the load. The tines 186 by being spring-type are forgivingand so will resilient yield when passing over rocks and other immovableobjects.

In the preferred embodiment of the machine 10, the speed of the tips ofthe beater elements 152 along the path P(1) is 414 ft/min or 4.7 mphwhile the speed of the tips of the broom bristles 178 along the pathP(2) is 1416 ft/min or 16.1 mph. The aforementioned speed differentialbetween the tips of the beater elements 152 and the tips of the broombristles 178 in cooperation with the overlapping paths P(1) and P(2)thereof results in effective stripping of the beater elements 152.Although the present invention is not limited to having the beaterelements 152 and the broom bristles 178 operating at the aforementionedspeeds, it is important that the broom bristles 178 operatesubstantially faster (i.e. two or three times faster) than the beaterelements 152. When encountering adverse conditions such as large pilesof leaves, the machine 10 should be towed at a ground speed of about 1to 2 mph so that the beater elements 152 operate much faster (i.e. at4.7. mph). This results in an even flow of leaves between the beater 46and the broom 48 without any clogging.

Adjustable Mounting of Rotary Beater

Another important feature of the improved leaf harvesting machine 10relates to means mounted on the mobile frame 12 which, in turn,adjustably mounts the beater 46 for move-ment along a linear path towardand away from the main pickup broom 48 for presetting the positionalrelationship of the beater 46 relative to the broom 48. Morespecifically, the adjusting means includes a releasable and slidablyadjustable attachment arrangement, generally designated 198, forpresetting the position of the endless path P(1) of the beater liftingelements 152 relative to the endless paths P(2),P(3) of the pickup broomsweeping and lifting elements 166,168. As seen in FIG. 4, the slightlyoverlapping relation between the peripheries of the respective endlesspaths P(1) and P(2) of the beater lifting elements 152 and pickup broomsweeping elements 166 is preferred. Also, a substantially tangentialrelation between the peripheries of the respective endless paths P(1)and P(2) of the pickup beater lifting elements 152 and pickup broomlifting elements 168 is preferred.

As best seen in FIGS. 1-6, the adjustable beater attachment arrangement198 includes a pair of left and right elongated arms 200,202 pivotallymounted at their rear end portions to the outer left and right ends ofthe broom central tubular member 70 and slidably coupled via elongatedslots 204 defined in their front end portions to outer left and rightends of the beater central tubular member 68. Left and right plates206,208 are fixed to the front portions of the respective left and rightarms 200,202 and extend above and below the arms. A pair of spaced slots210 are formed in each of the plates 206,208 above and below the arms200,202. The slots 210 receive releasable fasteners 212 which extendthrough holes in the left and right shroud side walls 52,54 beingalignable with the respective slots 210. Thus, the position of thebeater 46 relative to the broom 48 is adjusted by first unloosening thefasteners 212. Next, the beater 46 and shroud 50 therewith are slidtoward the broom 48 (with the outer ends of the beater central tubularmember 68 sliding along the slots 204 in arms 200,202) until the desiredposition is reached. Then, the fasteners 212 are retightened.

Still another important feature of the improved leaf loading machine 10relates to means pivotally mounted on the mobile frame 12 and mountingthe beater 46 for swinging movement toward and away from the groundabout the main pickup broom center 48. In particular, the beatermounting means takes the form of the above-described beater support andattachment arrangement 198 which pivotally mounts the beater 46 to theaxis of the broom 48 and a height adjustment mechanism 214 coupledbetween the beater shroud 50 and the mobile frame 12. Particularly, theheight adjustment mechanism 214 includes a bracket 216 fixed on the topwall 56 of the shroud 50 having an elongated lost motion slot 218, acylinder 220 having a central threaded bore 222 pivotally mounted by abracket 224 fixed on the front edge of the housing top wall 64, and anelongated threaded rod 226 extending through the cylinder 220 with ahandle 228 defined on the upper end thereof. The height adjustmentmechanism 214 is actuatable by rotating the handle 228 to preset aminimum displacement of the beater above the ground, as seen in FIG. 6.The presence of the slot 218 permits a lost motion-type pivotal movementof the beater shroud 50 and the beater 46 therewith to a maximumdisplacement above the ground (as seen in dashed line form in FIG. 6) toallow the beater 46 to rise up over immovable obstacles encountered onthe ground.

Conversion Between Transport and Operating Positions

Yet another feature of the improved machine relates to a conversionarrangement 230 for raising and lowering the beater 46 and main pickupbroom 48 between operating and transport positions shown respectively indashed and solid line forms in FIG. 5. Specifically, as best seen inFIGS. 1-6, the tongue assembly 38 of the machine 10 which is pivotallymounted by the pin 40 about a generally horizontal axis to the uprightbeams 34,36 includes a lever member 232 of the conversion arrangement230 extending rearwardly from the beams. The arrangement 230 alsoincludes a conversion mechanism 234 coupled between the rear end of thelever member 232 and a bracket 236 attached on the right longitudinalmembers 16,18 of the mobile frame 12.

The handle 238 on a threaded rod 240 of the conversion mechanism 230being threaded through a coupler 242 pivotally attached at 244 to therear end of the lever member 232 is turned to rotate the rod 240 andcausing pivoting of the tongue assembly 38 about the axis defined bypivot pin 40 and relative to the mobile frame 12 between first andsecond articulated conditions seen in FIG. 5. When the tongue assemblyclevis 42 is attached to the drawbar 44 of a towing vehicle, selectedactuation of the conversion mechanism 230 will respectively lower andraise the mobile frame 12 and the auxiliary pickup beater 46 and mainpickup broom 48 mounted thereon between the operating and transportpositions.

Other Features

In addition to the rotary brush cleaner 140 described earlier, the leafharvesting machine 10 also incorporates an arcuate-shaped carryoverrecovery plate or chute 146 fixed to and extending between the housingside walls 60,62 rearwardly of the lower side of the main pickup broom48. The function of the chute 146 is to facilitate return of carriedover material along the endless path P(2) of the broom 48 so thatanother attempt can be made at removing it from the street surface.Further, as an option a rotary curb brush 248 mounted to the beater leftsupport arm 200 by a swing arm 250 and powered by a hydraulic motor 252can be used on the machine 10.

It is thought that the present invention and many of its attendantadvantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it willbe apparent that various changes may be made in the form, constructionand arrangement of the parts thereof without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its materialadvantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred orexemplary embodiment thereof.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:
 1. A leafloading machine, comprising:a mobile frame adapted to move across theground; a rotary beater including a plurality of lifting elementsextending transversely of the frame; a rotary broom including aplurality of bristles extending transversely of the frame and disposedrearwardly of and in tandem relation to said beater; said beater andsaid broom being disposed adjacent the ground and operable tocounterrotate relative to one another so as to deliver leaves from theground upwardly between said beater and said broom; and drive means onsaid frame for counterrotating said beater and said broom so that thetips of said lifting elements are movable along a first path of travelat a first speed while the tips of said bristles are movable along asecond path of travel at a second speed, said second speed beingsubstantially faster than said first speed.
 2. The machine of claim 1wherein said first and second paths of travel overlap.
 3. The machine ofclaim 1, wherein said first and second speeds are faster than the groundspeed of the machine.
 4. The machine of claim 1, wherein said drivemeans comprises a power train including sprockets mounted on said beaterand said broom and further including drive chains for engaging thesprockets.
 5. The machine of claim 1, wherein said second speed is twoto three times faster than said first speed.